In terms of meandering, reverb drenched psychedelia, there aren't many who do it better than Sun Dial. The band, which emerged from studio experiment band the Modern Art, plays explosive, other worldy guitar based psychedelia, similar to first wave San Francisco psych acts, as well as the ecstasy fueled 80's Madchester gaze (Spacemen 3, Stone Roses). Dark, and best enjoyed whilst sitting under a black light, Sun Dial are truly far out, constantly reaching for the outer membrane of the atmosphere, while tugging at the core of your mind with blissful, often floating jams that would feel at home in the deepest, darkest part of a pyramid. Their debut record, Other Way Out, is a bonafide, under rated (and perpetually out of print) classic, composed of 6 extremely far out tunes, the sort of songs that easily could've been on the soundtrack to a film like Dazed and Confused, if Dazed an Confused were more like the Nicholson/Fonda/Hopper film The Trip or Holy Mountain. The opening cut, "Plains of Nazca", is a mountain climbing LSD adventure, a total trip, propelled by atmospheric keyboards and Jim Cippolina-esque guitar. The band specializes in climatic explosions of sound, but also knows their way around a hellbent ballad, best displayed on "World Without Time", which starts with acoustic guitar and is bolstered, and blown out of this world, by an absolutely massive, Middle Eastern riff which soars like Osprey in Hell's Canyon. A must for anyone with an affliction for lava lamps and good herb.
Sun Dial- World Without Time
Sun Dial- Plains of Nazca
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